April 24, 2025
TO
THE MISSISSIPPI SENATE:
GOVERNOR’S VETO MESSAGE FOR SENATE BILL 2840
I am returning Senate Bill 2840:
“AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 37-113-55, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE
THAT MONIES IN THE MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY VETERINARY SCHOOL FUND SHALL BE
DISBURSED BY THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF STATE INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING
INSTEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION; TO AMEND SECTION 43 OF
CHAPTER 95, LAWS OF 2024, TO REVISE THE FISCAL YEAR 2025 APPROPRIATION TO THE
STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO PROVIDE THAT A CERTAIN SUM MAY BE USED FOR THE
CONTINUATION OF THE CURRENT SCHOOL SAFETY PLATFORM; TO AMEND SECTION 1 OF
CHAPTER 534, LAWS OF 2024, TO CORRECT THE REFERENCE TO THE FUND NUMBER FOR THE
2022 EMERGENCY ROAD AND BRIDGE FUND; TO AMEND SECTION 29-9-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE
OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT PURCHASES OF OBSOLETE PERSONAL PROPERTY SOLD BY THE
LEGISLATURE ARE NOT VIOLATIONS OF THE ETHICS LAWS; TO DIRECT THE TRANSFER OF
CERTAIN FUNDS FROM THE CAPITAL EXPENSE FUND TO THE SECRETARY OF STATE LAND
IMPROVEMENT FUND; TO DIRECT THE STATE TREASURER ON BEHALF OF THE UNIVERSITY OF
MISSISSIPPI MEDICAL CENTER TO TRANSFER CERTAIN FUNDS TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF
HEALTH FISCAL YEAR 2026; TO DIRECT THE STATE TREASURER TO TRANSFER CERTAIN
FUNDS FROM THE CAPITAL EXPENSE FUND TO THE MISSISSIPPI SEMIQUINCENTENNIAL
CELEBRATION FUND; TO CREATE THE "MISSISSIPPI VETERAN'S HOME IMPROVEMENT
FUND" WITHIN THE STATE TREASURY; TO DIRECT THE STATE TREASURER TO TRANSFER
CERTAIN FUNDS TO THE "MISSISSIPPI VETERAN'S HOME IMPROVEMENT FUND";
TO CREATE THE "UNITED STATES FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY SETTLEMENT FUND"
WITHIN THE STATE TREASURY; TO DIRECT THE STATE TREASURER TO TRANSFER FUNDS FROM
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONTINGENT FUND TO THE "UNITED STATES FIRE INSURANCE
COMPANY SETTLEMENT FUND"; TO DIRECT THE TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM THE CAPITAL
EXPENSE FUND DFA TO THE 2022 IHL CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS FUND; TO DIRECT THE STATE
TREASURER TO TRANSFER A CERTAIN SUM FROM THE MARCH 2023 STORM HOUSING MISSION
FUND TO THE HAZARD MITIGATION ADMINISTRATION AND MANAGEMENT FUND; TO DIRECT THE
STATE TREASURER TO TRANSFER THE REMAINING BALANCE OF THE MARCH 2023 STORM
HOUSING MISSION FUND TO THE DISASTER ASSISTANCE TRUST FUND; TO DIRECT THE STATE
TREASURER TO TRANSFER A CERTAIN SUM FROM THE CAPITAL EXPENSE FUND TO THE
DISASTER ASSISTANCE TRUST FUND; TO REPEAL SECTION 33-15-55, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF
1972, WHICH IS THE PROVISION OF LAW CREATING THE MARCH 2023 STORM HOUSING
MISSION FUND; TO CREATE THE "DBCF CIVIL MONEY PENALTY FUND"; TO
DIRECT THE STATE TREASURER TO TRANSFER A CERTAIN SUM FROM THE CONSUMER FINANCE
FUND TO THE "DBCF CIVIL MONEY PENALTY FUND"; TO DIRECT THE STATE
TREASURER TO TRANSFER A CERTAIN SUM TO THE NG911 CMRS GRANT FUND; TO DIRECT THE
STATE TREASURER TO TRANSFER A CERTAIN SUM TO THE STATE NG911 FUND; AND FOR
RELATED PURPOSES.”
Article 4, Section 72 of the Mississippi Constitution of 1890
(“Constitution”), commonly referred to as the Presentment Clause, prescribes
the exclusive method for a bill to become law. The Clause is modeled
after the Presentment Clause in the United States Constitution, a clause
adopted by the Framers to clearly spell out the procedures for adopting laws
and prevent factions from attempting to depart from this constitutional
law-making process. Specifically, upon presentment to the Governor of a
bill that has been passed by both legislative chambers, the Governor may (a)
sign the bill within 5 days of presentment, and it becomes law; (b) return the
bill without signature, and such bill will become law as if he had signed it;
or (c) return the bill with his objections (veto) to the chamber of origin, and
such bill will become law if it is subsequently passed by each chamber upon a
two-thirds vote. Additionally, if the Governor is unable to return a bill
by the 5th legislative day after presentment due to the adjournment
of the Legislature, the Governor may return the bill with or without his
signature, or with his objections within 15 days of presentment.
The Constitution authorizes only four types of bills: revenue
bills, appropriations bills, general bills and local and private (special)
bills. Revenue bills generate money to fund the operation of state
government and require passage on a 3/5th vote of each legislative
chamber. Appropriations bills fix the maximum sum of money that may be
drawn from the state treasury for a particular use, and such use may be
conditioned by the authorizing legislation. General bills create laws of general
application--that is they (a) operate equally upon all persons in a particular
class or in a like situation, (b) are reasonable and (c) are based upon a real
distinction. Local and private bills create laws affecting only a single
person, group of people or geographic area of the state, and either grant a
unique benefit or power not available under a general law or absolve a legal
responsibility.
In addition, the Constitution imposes several other limitations on
the legislative process including those contained in Article 4, Section
69:
General appropriation bills shall contain
only the appropriations to defray the ordinary expenses of the executive,
legislative, and judicial departments of government; to pay interest on state
bonds, and to support the common schools.
All other appropriations shall be made by separate bills, each
embracing but one subject. Legislation
shall not be engrafted on the appropriation bills, but the same may
proscribe the conditions on which the money may be drawn, and for what purpose
paid.
(emphasis
added).
The requirement that appropriation bills embrace but one subject
was adopted to foreclose the practice of “log rolling” through general
appropriation bills, a failed practice to circumvent, among other things, the
Governor’s line-item veto power memorialized in Article 4, Section 73 of the
Constitution and recently reaffirmed by the Mississippi Supreme Court in Reeves v. Gunn, 307 So.3d 436, 439-442 (Miss. 2020). Moreover, the
prohibition on engrafting forecloses all arguments that a general law has been
amended by implication through the adoption of an appropriations bill. In
the words of the United States Supreme Court: “[w]ithout such an assurance,
every appropriations measure would be pregnant with prospects of altering
substantive legislation, repealing by implication any prior statute which might
prohibit the expenditure. . . . [and] lead to the absurd result of requiring
Members to review exhaustively the background of every authorization before
voting on an appropriation. . . .” TVA v. Hill, 437 U.S. 153, 190
(1978).
With this Constitutional framework in
mind, I turn to Senate Bill 2840, a bill that traveled through the legislative
process as a general bill. Multiple
sections of SB 2840 seek to establish funds within the state treasury, and/or
transfer state funds between funds within the state treasury. See Sections 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 13, 14,
15, 16, 17, 18, 19 and 20. None of these
Sections authorize the disbursement of any state funds outside of the treasury. Thus, these sections are appropriate for
inclusion in a general bill.
Section 2 of Senate Bill 2840 seeks to amend an
appropriations bill from the 2024 Legislative Session. Specifically, Section 2 seeks to amend
Section 43 of House Bill 1823 (2024 Legislative Session) the appropriations
bill for the Mississippi Department of Educations to amend the purpose for the
funds appropriated therein, as plainly stated in the short title: “TO AMEND
SECTION 43 OF CHAPTER 95, LAWS OF 2024, TO REVISE THE FISCAL YEAR 2025
APPROPRIATION TO THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO PROVIDE THAT A CERTAIN
SUM MAY BE USED FOR THE CONTINUATION OF THE CURRENT SCHOOL SAFETY PLATFORM.” Thus, by its plain text, Section 2 should be
included in an appropriations bill.
Section 4 of Senate Bill 2840 seeks to amend
Mississippi Code § 29-9-9 to authorize members of the Mississippi Legislature
to purchase surplus property. The
proposed amendment to a general law is accomplished through a general bill.
Section 6 of Senate Bill 2840 seeks to transfer
funds previously appropriated to the University of Mississippi Medical Center
to the State Department of Health for the purposes of funding the Office of
Mississippi Physician Workforce. If such
funds are still held by the treasury, such a “transfer” is akin to an
appropriation and should be included in an appropriations bill.
Sections 10 and 11 of Senate Bill 2840
establishes a fund in the state treasury, transfers money from an existing fund
in the state treasury into the newly created fund and authorizes DFA to “disburse”
state funds in the newly created fund “to defray costs in compliance with the
settlement in [a civil case]. . . related to the bookstore at Mississippi Delta
Community College.” (Lines 205-226).
While Section 10 does not use the term “appropriate,” there can be no
doubt that the intent of the Legislature is to authorize DFA to “disburse”
state funds out of the newly created fund for a particular purpose. Thus, by its plain text, Sections 10 and 11 should
be included in an appropriations bill.
Similarly, Section 12 authorizes the transfer
of state funds between funds (Capital Expense Fund and IHL Capital Improvements
Fund), and authorizes DFA, with the approval of IHL to disburse such funds for a
particular purpose: “projects related to the universities under its management
and control, to pay the costs for repair or renovation of systems buildings on
the Hattiesburg campus.” (Lines
227-241). Thus, like Sections 10 and 11,
Section 12, by its plain text, is an appropriation and should be included in an
appropriations bill.
In short, on the one hand, it is indisputable
that parts of Senate Bill 2840 are appropriate for inclusion in a general bill,
while on the other hand, it is axiomatic that other parts of SB 2840 are
appropriations, seeking to disburse from the state treasury state funds for a
particular purpose. So, it begs the
Constitutional question: What type of
bill is SB 2840? It looks, walks, quacks
and has the characteristics of both a general bill and an appropriation
bill. Like its predecessor House Bill
1085 (2025 Legislative Session), is SB 2840 a new species of bill? Fortunately, because SB 2840 runs afoul of
multiple provisions of the Constitution, such a bill cannot be lawfully
presented to the Office of the Governor for consideration, and such questions
regarding bill-type need not be answered.
First, Senate Bill 2840 violates Article 4,
Section 69 of the Constitution prohibiting the combination of general
legislation and appropriations in a single bill. It is beyond dispute that SB 2840
impermissibly engrafts general legislation and appropriations language in a
single bill, a practice that clearly violates the Constitution.
Second, Senate Bill 2840 violates Article 4,
Section 69 of the Constitution requiring appropriations that do not fund the
“ordinary expenses” of the executive, legislative or judicial branches, to pay
interest on state bonds, or to support the common schools be made by separate
bills. Thus, Article 4, Section 69
plainly prohibits the attempted appropriations to separate state agencies made
in this single bill.
Third, because it is impossible to determine
whether Senate Bill 2840 is a general bill or an appropriations bill, it has
the potential to infringe on the Governor’s clear Article 4, Section 73
authority to veto parts of an appropriation bill and approve parts of the
same. Regrettably, the Constitution does
not afford to the Governor the authority to utilize the line-item veto when
reviewing general bills. This is almost
certainly why the Constitution prohibits combining general legislation and
appropriations in a single bill. The
hybrid nature of SB 2840 thus has the potential to create a conflict of
authority if I was to choose to exercise the Governor’s line-item veto power
with respect to any of the separate, distinct and complete appropriations contained
in the bill. Thankfully, because SB 2840
has not been properly presented to me, this Constitutional question can be
avoided.
In sum, because the form of Senate Bill 2840
violates multiple clear prohibitions contained in the Constitution, the bill
has not been lawfully presented to the Governor. Further, because of the impending special
session, many of the necessary transfers and appropriations contained in SB
2840 may be accomplished and resubmitted by the Legislature in Constitutional
form. Nevertheless, both the plain text
and spirit of the Constitution requires me to veto Senate Bill 2840.
Respectfully
submitted,
TATE
REEVES
GOVERNOR